My "new to me" 1972 Notchback has standing water beneath the pedals and behind the driver's seat after heavy rainfall. I traced the dampest carpet areas to the driver's kick panel, removed it and reached behind to find damp leaves and crud collected within at the bottom of the fender. This car was purchased as a restored salvage; is something missing to prevent rain/debris from falling within the fender; perhaps an additional seal other than the straight seal running along the width beneath the hood?

That is very common. You can keep some of the bigger crap out of there by fabricating screens to cover the cowl area under the rear edge of the hood.It would also prevent sockets and wrenches from disappearing down inside your fenders.

You need to keep the lower fenders clean from debris so the water can drain out. I covered my cowl area with mesh, although I did it more for looks but it will also keep leaves and crap from clogging things up. A good cowl seal seal is also important to help keep debris out and also prevent hot engine compartment air from entering the the interior through the kick panel vents. I have a replacement cowl seal available if anyone needs it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/141688476145?ss ... 1555.l2649 Here's a pic of my screens. cjbiagi@yahoo.com

Another thing to keep in mind for a leak on the driver's side is to check the grommet where the hood cable enters the passenger compartment. Rain will follow the cable down and drip on the floor if the grommet is broken or missing.

I've removed the bolts on the bottom of the fender and some along the door jamb to allow me to open the bottom of the fender for a r eak good clean out. Also, the cowl wall behind the fender can be inspected for rust.. I like to clean/scrape it and paint it or coat it to prevent rust. I've seen these cowl walls with rust holes in them.

Over the years with many Vegas and leaks on the drivers side, you may want to check above the rubber grommet that Cosvega76 mentions. You can feel all the way to that grommet through the upper cowel. I have had my driver side floor board filled with water that ran down the hood release handle during a single heavy rain. The hard plastic cable sheathing with age will crack where it makes a 145 degree turn inside the cowel cavity before that rubber grommet. The way it is designed, water will travel down that sheathing into the crack and follow the cable to the release handle. Beside the lower cavity in the fender cowel being filled with debris, I would also check that cable. It happened on three different Vegas that I had owned. I repaired them back then by replaceing the cable, and later on with out spare parts, I pulled the cable out and used electrical shrink tubing over the crack which also seemed to work out fine.